Posted on December 31, 2017 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus! Gelobt sei Jesus Christus! Sia lodato Gesù Cristo! Praised be Jesus Christ!
On behalf of all the Priests and Brothers of the Cincinnati Oratory, the staffs of Old St. Mary’s & Sacred Heart, I wish each of you a very happy New Year. Over the past year, we have had much to thankful for. Our parish continues to do well, the Oratory was established by the Holy Father, we have had many baptisms, and the parish continues to grow. There is also much to keep in prayer this new year, praying especially for our Church, our country, our neighbors, and our fell parishioners who are hurting in any way. I am grateful for all of the blessings God has given to us in 2017 and I pray for continued blessings in 2018. Please know that we, the Oratory, pray for each of our parishioners every day in our daily community prayers. Please also pray for us, that we may be priests modeled after our Lord’s Sacred Heart. May God bless each of you in this New Year!
As mentioned last week, this is just a reminder about the Indulgences we can receive today and tomorrow. According to the Enchiridion of Indulgences, that we have the opportunity for a Plenary Indulgence on both New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day. The following acts must be accompanied by the usual conditions of detachment from all sin (including venial sin), be in the State of Grace, Sacramental Confession within 20 days, the reception of Holy Communion within 20 days, & prayers for the Holy Father’s Intention (usually an Our Father, Hail Mary, & Glory Be). One may gain only one Plenary Indulgence per day.
On New Year’s Eve, those who recite or sing the Te Deum are granted a Plenary Indulgence. On New Year’s Day, those who recite or sing the Veni Creator are granted a Plenary Indulgence. You may find these prayers on the Oratory webpage (www.cincinnatioratory.com). We will also solemnly sing the Veni Creator at our Masses today and the Te Deum at Mass tomorrow. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
For our meditation this week, please find Pope Benedict XVI’s final Christmas Day message from 2012. Have a blessed week and Happy New Year!
“In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven. Saint Augustine explains with admirable brevity: “What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? The flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you will see that truth has sprung out of the earth … truth has been born of the Virgin Mary” (En. in Ps. 84:13). And in a Christmas sermon he says that “in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was fulfilled: ‘truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven’. The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of the earth, to be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole world has sprung out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman … The Truth which heaven cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a manger. For whose benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for his own, but for our great benefit, if we believe” (Sermones, 185, 1).” – Pope Benedict XVI